Bad Dreams
by timelordonacloud
Summary: The Doctor comforts Clara one night after she has a nightmare, and finds that the only thing missing from his nights was a Short one-shot I wrote for the Whouffle party on


**A/N: Okay it's a bit rushed, and totally been done before, but I'm going out and I wanted to contribute something to the whouffle party. I might write something else if I get some inspiration in time to post it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

It was the Doctor that went to her that first night, although she was the one having nightmares. He was working on the TARDIS underneath the console when he heard her cry out for the first time. Immediately, he dropped what he was doing, afraid that something happened to her.

He ran to her room, taking his sonic screwdriver from his pocket just incase. But when he finally got to his destination and burst through the door, he found the room was dark, and Clara asleep, not in any real danger.

She was tossing and turning on her bed, soft groans escaping her mouth, and also what sounded like the words "human" and "not Dalek" repeated over and over again.

He frowned, putting away his sonic screwdriver and slowly moving towards her bed, until he could sit comfortably on the edge.

"Clara... Clara wake up." He said softly, shaking her just slightly.

She shot up almost instantly, and when she opened her eyes the Doctor could see the tears that were threatening to fall. He hated seeing her like that, scared and vulnerable, and he knew it was his fault. It was his fault that she encountered monsters and aliens, his fault that she'd had to die over and over again in his time stream, his fault that she had trouble sleeping at night.

"Doctor?" her voice broke when she called his name softly.

"Yes Clara, it's me. You were having a bad dream."

"I- I was being chased... there were Daleks all around me, and they wanted me, they- they were turning me into one of them." She told him, trying to stop from crying as she explained. But she was tired, and scared, she didn't have the energy to stop the few stray tears that fell from her eyes.

"It's alright Clara, you're alright." He quickly pulled her into his arms, kissing her cheek before holding her tightly against him. "You're alright." He repeated in a whisper, though he wasn't sure if that was to reassure her, or him.

He held her like that for a couple minutes, rubbing her back slowly with a comforting hand, until he realized she was probably exhausted, she needed her sleep. He was about to pull away, but as soon as Clara realized what he was doing, she just held on to him tighter.

"Clara, you need to sleep." He told her.

"I don't want you to go. Doctor, please." She pulled away just enough to look into his eyes, and he could see just how scared she was. His Clara, his impossible girl, usually so brave and independent. She needed him now, and he wasn't about to leave her.

He nodded, cupping her cheek with his hand for a moment before kicking his shoes off and moving the covers over so he could settle in beside Clara.

Leaning back against the headboard, he pulled Clara back into his arms so that her head was lying on his chest. He didn't have to say anything more, and neither did Clara. He just kissed the top of her head and held her in silence until her breaths became even again, and she was asleep.

The next morning they woke up snuggled together. The Doctor had fallen asleep sometime after Clara, and throughout the night they'd both unconsciously tangled their legs together.

The Doctor blushed, letting out a quick "sorry" as soon as he noticed Clara was awake, but she just smiled, shaking her head softly. He'd held her and comforted her, that was nothing to apologize for.

The day passed by quickly, they went to a different planet, fought a different alien, saved another galaxy, the usual. When night came they both went back into the TARDIS, they didn't talk about last night, just acted like nothing ever happened.

The Doctor watched as Clara walked towards her bedroom, alone, and he wanted nothing else but to join her. The truth was, last night had been the first night in a very long time that he'd slept for more than an hour. It's true that Time Lords don't need as much sleep as humans, but they did need it, and the Doctor wasn't getting anywhere near the amount he should be.

Clara wasn't the only one with nightmares that kept her up at night, and having her in his arms had comforted him just as much as it had comforted her. Of course, he wasn't even sure if Clara would want him to sleep with her again, so instead of going to her, he made his way to the library, ready to read through another sleepless night.

Later that night, after he'd been reading for almost two hours, he heard a soft creak from the door behind him. He turned around to see Clara come in slowly, almost timidly. Her hair was a disheveled and her eyes were tired, but she still managed to look beautiful as she walked over to him.

She didn't say anything, just grabbed his hand and pulled gently, but the Doctor understood. He set the book he'd been reading down and stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in, a smile on his face as he followed Clara back to her room.

After that, sleeping together became the usual, and soon enough, what he used to refer to as Clara's room became _their _room. Snuggled up to Clara every night, he always got enough sleep.


End file.
